“Who Said Love Was Easy?” – Luke 6:17-36 – February 11, 2007

Valentine’s Day is almost here and there will be a variety of expressions of love for those we care about. The exchange of cards, gifts of candy, flowers, jewelry, clothing and going out for dinner, are considered normal behavior for this great institution of love. It has become an American tradition and for many, an expensive one. Who said love was easy?

Of course, romantic love is not what Jesus was speaking about here in Luke, in fact, far from it. He was speaking about a love that is next to impossible. Love your enemies? Pray for those who abuse you? Give, without expecting anything in return? Jesus, surely you can’t be serious.

One evening last week, CNN ran a special episode about an Afro-American man who made friends with the Klan. Can you imagine, a black man reaching out to the very group that is prejudice toward his race? The 47-year-old Daryl Davis befriended many Klansmen, witnessed the resignation of several Klan members and wrote a book on his experiences. Davis landed the spot on CNN for attending a Klan rally with his friend Roger Kelly, a former national Klan leader. Davis said he achieved this feat by treating Klan members with enough respect that they would take him seriously. After forging a relationship with Kelly, Davis began introducing him to different people with different viewpoints.
"I wasn't trying to convert him. I was trying to expose him to people who were not like him and didn't think like him," Davis said. "I wanted him to see that maybe he was the exception." Davis learned as a child that racial hate was the exception to the rule. He and his Caucasian co-worker set up an interview with Kelly and took great care not to divulge his race until Kelly showed up for the interview. Though they had differing views, Davis and Kelly got along because Davis genuinely listened to Kelly's ideas and did not respond hatefully. Kelly was one the first Klansmen to quit the organization after forming a positive relationship with a black person.
Davis took seriously the words of Jesus, “love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.” He was truly an amazing example of a man who is committed to Jesus’ command to love his enemies. His willingness to reach out to those who hate him resulted in changed lives. I find this an amazing story. You seldom hear of people who are willing to love their enemies.

Could you love a person who hates you? Is it possible to love someone who has abused us or harmed us or hurt us in some way? To love our enemies obviously requires forgiveness and unconditional acceptance. To love in that way would result in criticism or exclusion. No doubt we would be labeled weird or crazy.

Ironically, the very group Jesus was speaking to were folks who were on the fringe of society. They were outcasts, poor, weak, unclean and powerless. Yet, they were the ones who were persecuted and excluded. What did Jesus do? He blessed them. He also promised them life in God’s kingdom. “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven.”

Jesus wasn’t describing a far away place. He wasn’t talking about life after death. The kingdom he spoke of was a present day reality. It is not a kingdom for those who are self dependent. It is a kingdom for the sick, the tormented and those desperate for the love of God, a kingdom for those who have experienced hate, persecution, rejection, and exclusion.

We believe that paradise is for those who work hard, live right, follow the rules, jump through all the hoops and know the right people. That is because we equate heaven with success and prosperity. Jesus however, described a kingdom that revolved around reconciliation, affirmation, humility and mercy.

In addition to loving enemies, Jesus challenges us to live by some extraordinary attributes. First, he says to “offer the other cheek.” In other words, he advocates non-violence. Retaliation and/or revenge are not qualities of life in the kingdom. Second, he said that “if someone borrows your lawnmower, don’t bother to ask for it back.” (paraphrase) Third, he said, “give away your shirt after someone takes your coat and give to those that beg.” Apparently it is better to let go of stuff rather than hold on.

Sometime after the Civil War, Robert E. Lee was visiting a friend's Kentucky farm. The family took the retired general to the remains of what had once been a grand old tree in the front of their home. The mistress of the house was still very upset. She cried bitterly that the tree's limbs and trunk had been destroyed by the artillery fire of the Northern armies. She looked to Lee for some word condemning the hated Union or at least some sympathy for the loss of the beautiful tree. After a brief silence, Lee said, "Cut it down, my dear madam, and forget it.” (from Gerard D. Fuller, O.M.I., Deaconsil)

These attributes require tremendous courage and faith. To love as Jesus suggests is not only “not easy,” it is down right impossible. It doesn’t seem rational and it certainly isn’t what our society upholds as normal behavior. Most of you are thinking, “yeh, these are words for folks who lived a long time ago. Their circumstances were different. They were oppressed and not part of the mainstream.” We therefore believe this message doesn’t apply to us.

Who said love was easy?

I’m sure the disciples were stunned by his teachings. And yet they were standing beside him when he gave this message. Are we not his disciples? Is there any reason why this message is not also for us? Perhaps we cannot love in this way since we are unwilling to stand up for what we truly believe.

Life in the kingdom is about living as a disciple. It requires faith that sometimes goes against what is popular or what is normal. Faith is about changing lives and embracing the lost. Faith is about transformation. It is also about fulfillment and freedom.

Love is not easy. Real love is extended beyond our close circle of friends and relatives. “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.” It’s easy to love those we like or love those who give us something in return. It’s quite another thing to love those we don’t know.

The movie, "The Ruby Bridges Story" is a true story of a six or seven year-old black girl who was the first person to desegregate the public schools in New Orleans. She had to be escorted to school every day by Federal marshals, to ensure her safety. Every day she had to walk through a crowd of angry, screaming, hate-filled white parents. And once inside the school, only one teacher would help her with her education. The personal cost to Ruby and her family was high: her father lost his job, and Ruby lost her friends. Little Ruby was quite a sensitive young girl! She never got angry or mad at the hate-filled comments she was subjected to every day from the white parents. At one point in the movie, you see Ruby turn around and speak something to the crowd, but you can't hear what it is. Later, the child psychiatrist asks her what it was that she said. Ruby replied, “Jesus told her she must forgive these people, because they did not know what they were doing.” (from Deacon Paul Rooney, February 22, 1998, Deaconsil)

Love is not easy. It is not easy to forgive others for their wrongdoings. It is not easy to rise above rejection and hatred and still love. Perhaps if we all were a little more like Ruby Bridges our world would be totally different, and more like the world Jesus intended. And like the disciples in his time we too would receive a blessing.

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio